Ricky Ponting has criticised England coach Peter Moores and the rest of the ECB executive over their handling of Flintoff's ankle injury, suggesting that 'maybe it's got to the stage where they need to just give him six months completely away from the game to get his ankle looked after and his fitness back up'.

The Australia captain, speaking exclusively to Observer Sport at the inaugural World Twenty20 Cup here in South Africa, also believes that England's management of the problem could have serious implications for the all-rounder's long-term future. Flintoff has had three operations on his left ankle since playing a crucial role in England's memorable Ashes triumph in 2005.

'That was some of the best bowling our players had ever faced,' Ponting said last night. 'And that series is probably the best cricket he ever played. Being the big player he is in the team, I think the captain always goes to him. I know I always went to Shane Warne and he would keep bowling and bowling. The Sri Lanka Test [in 2006] when Freddie was captain and bowled himself all day at Lord's for 51 overs - well, that sort of stuff is going to take its toll one day. We've been pretty conscious over the years of managing our bowlers.'

While the ECB have said that Flintoff will have to be rested from some international matches, Moores rejected Ponting's claims. 'Fred's the same as he's been,' he said. 'His ankle needs managing, there's no doubt about that. And this is quite a good tournament to test out where we're at with it because it's four-over spells [maximum]. We can control it. And at the end of every game the doctor can look at it. If at any stage we thought we were damaging it or making it worse, we wouldn't play him.'

Last winter Flintoff captained England to a 5-0 Ashes defeat in Australia. On Friday here in Cape Town, Ponting faced him for the first time since that tour in a World Twenty20 pool match, which Australia won easily to join their opponents in the Super Eight stage. Flintoff top-scored with 31 and dismissed Ponting. But he is still 'definitely having to work a little within himself', Moores said.

'We could see with his run-up and follow-up he was a little bit ginger on his ankle, but it looked like he could bat reasonably hard,' said Ponting. 'But if he isn't going to get back to how he used to, that's a big concern for their team. He's only 29, so there's obviously a lot of cricket ahead of him if he can get his body right. There's been a lot of players over the years who haven't been able to stand up to the rigours of fast bowling.

'Jason Gillespie [the Australia fast bowler] is one and there's been others who've had premature ends to their careers. Hopefully Freddie isn't one of those. I hope he gets back to full fitness again.'

How does Ponting rate Flintoff chances? 'I wouldn't be surprised if he did,' said the Australia captain. 'But I think he needs some real good rehab time. I don't know what his ankle's like, but the thing I've been surprised about is if he's come back he's aggravated it again fairly early on, which would indicate that maybe he hasn't been 100 per cent right and ready to go. The English management are talking about managing it well, but maybe it's got to the stage where they need to give him six months completely away.

'I must admit I've been a little bit surprised because he seems to be rushed back into the team a lot over the last couple of years, particularly for home Test matches in England.'

Flintoff has missed 11 of a possible 25 Tests through injury since the summer of 2005 and was recently awarded one of 12 central contracts by the ECB, despite the governing body's concerns. Moores, though, is happy with England's approach. 'Fred saw the surgeon before he came [to South Africa] and he was very happy with it. If he's getting through [games] and it's manageable, they can look at different ways of rehabbing it as we go along, so we'll see where he gets to.'

Moores , who would not confirm if Flintoff would play today in the Super Eight match against South Africa, also said there had not yet been any discussion about him missing future England matches. 'No, because we just don't know, said Moores. 'At the moment I do know that Fred wants to play cricket.'

But he did seem to confirm Ponting's criticism when denying that if Flintoff aggravated the injury during this tournament - a relatively minor event before winter tours to Sri Lanka and New Zealand - it would not be serious. 'If he aggravates it here, he'd aggravate it in the next tournament, so it makes no difference,' said Moores. 'What they [the medical staff] are saying is that they have to find out. And that's common sense.'

Sanath Jayasuriya made his second half-century in two days as Sri Lanka eased to a seven-wicket win over New Zealand in their World Twenty20 group match in Johannesburg. Jayasuriya, who scored 88 off 44 balls against Kenya on Friday, scored 61 as Sri Lanka cruised to 168 for three in 18.5 overs.